Panama Papers Series

Panama Papers' dodgy middlemen are nothing new, as our own tax scandals show

Apr 06, 2016 05:31 am UTC| Insights & Views Law

The unprecedented leak of millions of documents, known as the Panama Papers, from tax haven law firm Mossack Fonseca prompted me to pick up an old book on my shelf. Written in 1969, Adventures in Tax Avoidance: with 120...

The leakers of Panama

Apr 06, 2016 01:17 am UTC| Insights & Views Law

Last weeks shenanigans from Donald Trump reminded us of a particularly florid episode of House Of Cards. This week, with the leak of 11.5 million documents suggesting elite tax avoidance and evasion on an heroic scale,...

Justice is still not being done in the exploitation of indigenous products

Apr 05, 2016 14:04 pm UTC| Insights & Views Law

There has been a sea change in the biodiversity business. International and national laws now oblige companies and researchers to do the right thing. Indigenous people and local communities must be included as...

Escaping the poverty trap requires more than a cash lump sum

Apr 05, 2016 14:01 pm UTC| Insights & Views Law

In a recent TV series, three families were given 26,000 the maximum amount a person is entitled to receive in benefits in a year as a lump sum in exchange for giving up welfare. The experiment on Channel 5s The Great...

Panama Papers Series

What are 'tax havens'?

Apr 05, 2016 13:08 pm UTC| Insights & Views Law

The Panama Papers leak sheds some light on the intricate ways in which the wealthy can exploit secretive offshore tax regimes. As well as charging minimal or no tax to residents and non-residents, the main characteristics...

Panama Papers Series

Panama Papers: information sharing could bust open secretive companies in tax havens

Apr 05, 2016 04:09 am UTC| Insights & Views Law

The essence of the problem highlighted in the major leak from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca is that the governments of tax havens still allow intermediary firms to establish shell companies or trusts and dont...

Climate Change Series

Airline emissions and the case for a carbon tax on flight tickets

Apr 05, 2016 04:04 am UTC| Insights & Views Law Nature

After years of delay, the international aviation industry is inching its way towards bringing its greenhouse emissions under some form of regulation. Last month the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organisation...